Chargers to Retire Tomlinson's Number

 

Tomlinson will enter SD Hall of Fame Photo Credit: Robert Hanashiro/USA Today Sports

The Chargers will be giving one of their former greats a special honor.

By: Michael Hanley (@Magic20099)

On November 22nd, San Diego will give  former running back LaDainian Tomlinson a special day of his own as the franchise  will retire his number 21 during a ceremony during the halftime of the game that night against the Kansas City Chiefs.

It is an honor that has been a longtime coming for the best running back that this franchise has ever seen and may ever see.  Tomlinson not only was  a special football player to the fans, teammates, coaches and front office of the franchise, he became a positive and proud symbol for the city of San Diego.

 He is far from just a player who played in the games, collected his checks and went home. He went above and beyond to engage and become apart of the community he played in.

 From the charitable initiatives he pursued to just plain being  open and active with meeting and getting to know those in the city of San Diego, Tomlinson set himself apart from the usual NFL players you hear about on TV, print, online etc.

 This was a player who knew the importance of being a Charger and playing to the best of his abilities not only for the team but for the community that had become a second home to him in allot of ways.

The Chargers selected Tomlinson as the fifth overall in the 2001 NFL Draft. He came to San Diego when the franchise was at a very low point in its existence. It was trying to shake off the previous disaster seasons and try to rebuild this team from scratch.

Tomlinson was seen as a major part of the team's future plans and one that could help bring the Chargers back to prominence and be a team that contended for a Super Bowl.

The dreams and visions of the franchise at that time would come to fruition as during his nine year tenure in San Diego, Tomlinson would help guide the Chargers to five playoff appearances during his time, including reaching the 2007 when they advanced to the AFC championship game before falling to New England.

Tomlinson certainly left his mark on the record books as he finished his career with a total of  13,684 yards which made him the fifth all time leading rusher at the time of his retirement.

His total of 12,490 rushing yards made him the all time leading rusher in Chargers history by a wide margin, a two to one margin to be exact, between himself and the second all time leading rusher for San Diego.  He also had  a nose for the end zone a she had a career total of 145 rushing touchdowns.

Tomlinson more than deserves this honor and will join a very special club as being only the forth player in Chargers history to have the honor of having his number retired. He joins Dan Fouts, Junior Seau and Lance Alworth.